Receiver Anthony Russo said today he broke the pinkie on his right hand in practice Tuesday and will have surgery on Friday.

He said the initial prognosis is that he will be out at least four weeks but that the surgery will further determine his outlook.

"How fast I heal is how quickly I can come back,'' said Russo, who said he hopes to be back for the opener against Syracuse, though that seems unlikely. He said he will have stitches in the hand for at least two weeks following the surgery.

Russo, who was wearing a cast from his pinkie to his elbow, said he was running a post pattern when he went down to catch the ball and the pinkie got caught in a grasp and bent backward.

"There's a pretty big fracture at the bottom,'' he said.

Corey Williams will move into Russo's starting slot opposite Marcel Reece and other receivers will also move up in the rotation. But that's a blow to a position that doesn't have a ton of depth, especially after the loss (at least for the moment) of Anthony Boyles and Devin Aguilar to grades.

Cornerback Byron Davenport told reporters he will sit out today with the hamstring injury suffered yesterday but isn't yet sure how long he will be out.

Linebacker Donald Butler said he expected to return to practice today after missing Tuesday to rest his knee. He said he had surgery over the summer to repair a lateral meniscus tear and that the knee began swelling up a few days ago.

He said he played with the injury through the spring and had the surgery shortly afterward but that he expects to be 100 percent for the season.

Also, the Seahawks practiced here today with most of the Huskies on hand to watch. I'll have some player reaction to that a little later.

UPDATE 1 P.M. --- Tyrone Willingham met with the media and said he was optimistic that Russo wouldn't be out all that long (while also saying he didn't yet know all the details of Russo's injury). He seemed a little more pessimistic about Davenport, saying that "one week would be kind and two weks would be generous'' on how long the cornerback will be out. Guess that means he'll be sidelined somewhere from one-two weeks.

As for Butler, Willingham said he remains day-to-day, though Butler, as noted above, said he expected to be back today.

Willingham also revealed that incoming freshman kicker Erik Folk has a back "issue'' that is limiting his ability to practice. Willingham didn't go into detail, saying only that "we are monitoring'' Folk's back "issue.'' Folk had been expected by many to step right into the place kicking job, but there are other candidates, including Ryan Perkins and walk-on Cory Rutkowski.

There wasn't much else new from Willingham as the team didn't practice this morning, instead watching the Seahawks work out at Husky Stadium.

Willingham said he hoped the players learned a few things watching the Seahawks, adding that "if you want to be the best, why not watch the best? It all goes hand in hand.''

Willingham also had a few minutes to chat with his UW predecessor, Keith Gilbertson, who is now an assistant with the Seahawks. Willingham said he has kept in contact with Gilbertson through the years --- the two got to know each other well during their one year when they were rivals at Cal and Stanford --- and that Gilbertson "has always been delightful to be with.''